Earlier this week, a group of Conservative MPs called for powers over employment and social legislation to be returned to the UK and for safeguards in other areas such as financial regulation but others want to go further and leave the EU altogether.
The Fresh Start group of more than 100 Conservative MPs, who are seen as “pragmatic Eurosceptics,” published the list of powers they believe should be returned from Brussels to London in negotiations on a new EU treaty.
Their “manifesto for change” demands five treaty changes, which include handing social and employment laws back to member states, an “emergency brake” to give the UK on financial services directives to protect the City of London, a complete opt-out from EU policing and criminal justice measure, a new legal safeguard for the single market and ending what they call the “travelling circus” which sees the European Parliament meet in Strasbourg.
Andrea Leadsom, a co-founders of Fresh Start, said the manifesto was “very clear” that Britain should remain in the EU but said it must be prepared to leave as a last resort option if other member states blocked change.
Commenting on the Fresh Start group’s proposals, Labour leader Ed Miliband said that if his party were to be re-elected, he would not repeal the coalition government’s so-called “referendum lock”, which is a law passed in 2010 meaning that a public vote would be triggered if substantial further powers were delegated to the EU.
He added that “urgent changes” were needed in the EU and that Labour would seek to repatriate certain powers, including funding for industry and infrastructure that are part of the EU’s regional policy, to ensure the EU “worked better for Britain”.
The Prime Minister yesterday decided to postpone his speech on the EU, which was due to be delivered today, as he will stay in London because of the Algeria hostage crisis.